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EMILE  ZOLA 


A.  PSYCHO OPHYSIOi^L  STUDY 


WITH 


APPENDIX 


ARTHUR   MacDONALD 


FOURTH  EDITION 


WASHINGTON,  D.   C, 
1901 


PATHO-SOCIAL  AND  I%Y^|*ciPHYSICAL 

BY 

ARTHUR   nacDONALD, 

Specialist  in  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,   Washington,  D.  C. 
ABNORMAL. 

ABNORMAL  MAN,  being  essays  on  P^diication  and  Crime,  Criminal  So- 
ciology, Criminal  Hypnotism,  Alcoiiolism,  Insanity,  and  Genius, 
with  digests  of  literature  and  a  bibliography.  1893.  Published  by 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education.  Washington,  1).  C.  445  pages,  8°.  2d 
edition,  1895. 

CRIMINOLOGY,  a  psychological  and  scientific  study  of  criminals,  crim- 
inal contagion,  criminal  hypnotism,  and  recidivation,  with  introduc- 
tion by  Lombroso.    Bibliography.    Second  edition.   New  York,  1894.  , 
Funk  &  Wagnalls,  publishers.    416  pages,  12°.  i 

LE  CRIMINEL-TYPE  dans  quelques  formes  graves  de  la  criminality ; 
Jesse  Pomeroy,  "the  Boy  torturer ";  Piper,  "thebrainer"  (Belfry 
case,  Boston);  "Jack,  the  Ripper"  (de  Londres).  Bibliographie  de 
sexuality  pathologique.  Troisieme  Edition.  Un  volume  en  8°,  illus- 
trait  de  portraits.  Public  par  A.  Storck,  Lyon,  et  G.  Masson,  Paris. 
1895.     300  pages.     This  work  is  not  published  in  English. 

EDUCATION  AND  PATHO  SOCIAL  STUDIES,  including  an  investi.^- 
tion  of  the  murderer  "  H."  (Holmes);  reports  on  psychological, 
criminological,  and  demographical  congresses  in  Europe;  London 
slums  and  Gen.  Booth's  Salvation  Army  movement.  Reprint  (from 
Annual  Report  of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1893-'94), 
57  pages,  8°.     Washington,  D.  C,  1896. 

EMILE  ZOLA,  a  psycho-physical  study  of  Zola's  pereonality,  with  illus-' 
trations;    his  physical   and  mental  peculiarities:   nervous  system, 
finger  imprints,  morbid  ideas,  etc.     Reprint  (from  Open  Court,  Au- 
gust, 1898.     18  pages),  1899.     Gratis  on  application  to  author. 

ABNORMAL  CHILDREN  {in  preparation),  a  study  of  genius,  precociouaJ 
ness,  eccentricity,  insanity,  feeblemindedness,  suicide,  crime,  cruelty] 
viciousness,  pauperism,  alcoholism,  drunkenness,  intemperance,  dej 
generation,  depravity,  and  moral  education  in  children. 

NORMAL. 

EXPERIMENTAL  STUDY  OF  CHILDREN,  including  Anthropometri-^ 
cal  and  Psycho-physical  measurements  of  Washington  school  chil- 
dren ;  measurements  of  school  children  in  United  States  and  Europe  ; 
description  of  instruments  of  precision  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Bureau 
of  Education;  child  study  in  the  United  States;  and  a  bibliography. 
Reprint  (from  Annual  Report  of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  for 
1897-'98),  325  pages,  8°.     Washington,  D.  C,  1899. 


COPYRIGHT,  1898,  BY  ARTHUR  MacDONALD, 

The  "  Caibo," 

Washington,  D.  C. 


EMILE  ZOLA.* 

BY   ARTHUR   MAC   DONALD, 

WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 

T^HE  study  of  any  human  being  with  the  means  at  present  in  the 
hands  of  science  would  make  a  volume.  Such  an  investiga- 
tion of  modern  civilized  man  is  one  of  the  most  recent  methods  of 
empirical  inquiry.  It  is  paradoxical  that  man  is  the  last  object  to 
be  thoroughly  studied  by  man.  There  is  less  definite  knowledge  of 
modern  man  than  of  uncivilized  man  ;  there  is  more  definite  knowl- 
edge about  rocks  and  plants  than  about  man,  and  though  we  have 
made  sciences  of  the  former,  a  science  of  human  beings  hardly 
exists. 

The  term  "  science  "  has  been  applied  to  sociology,  criminology, 
and  like  studies,  but  they  are  only  sciences  by  courtesy,  and  not  in 
the  rigid  sense  of  the  word  ;  for  until  there  has  been  a  systematic 
study  of  large  numbers  of  individual  persons,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  sufficient  knowledge  can  be  established  to  constitute  sociology 
a  science.  The  instrumental  investigation  of  man,  as  carried  on  at 
present,  is  simply  a  more  precise  method  of  procedure,  presenting 
the  effects  of  mental,  moral,  and  physical  forces  upon  the  body,  of 
many  of  which  we  are  unconscious.  Empirical  methods  of  studying 
modern  man  are  being  undertaken  in  many  countries,  and  thus  we 
may  come  to  have  in  the  future  an  anthropology  of  the  living  as  well 
as  of  the  dead. 

The  most  recent  stud\-,  and  perhaps  the  most  thorough  one  ever 
made  of  an  individual  in  societ\'  (a  number  have  been  made  on  crim- 
inals in  prison'),  is  an  investigation  of  Zola,  conducted  by  a  number 
of  French  specialists." 

Zola,  after  reading  the  results  of  these  studies  that  he  had  per- 

1  See  V Homme  Ctitninel,  by  Lombroso,  and  Le  Criminel-Tvpe,  by  the  writer. 

2  Toulouse,  Ma-nouvrier,  Bertillon,  Bloch,  Hucliard,  Joffry,  Robin,  Mofet,  Serveaux,  Bon- 
nier, Henry,  Philippe,  Crepieux-Jamin,  Passy,  Galippe,  and  others. 

{*  Repri  tiled  from  ^^The  Open  Court,''  Chicago,  August,  iSg8.) 


68 


THE    OPEN    COURT. 


miUcd  the  scientists  to  make  on  him,  says  in  brief  :  "I  have  read 
these  pages,  they  have  interested  me  much,  and  I  wilHngl}^  grant 
authority  to  pubHsh  them  as  authentic  and  true  ;  foc^,  l\  have  one 
desire  in  Hfe,  the  truth,  and  one  purpose,  to  make  the  most  of 
-truth.  That  which  tends  to  truth  cannot  but  be  excellent.  I  give 
this  authority  because  I  have  never  liidden  anything  ;  I  have  lived 
openly,  spoken  freely  and  without  fear  that  which  I  believed  to  be 
good  and  useful.  In  the  thousands  of  pages  I  have  written,  I  have 
nothing  to  withdraw.  If  my  works  have  certain  vices,  they  may 
be  good  for  something  in  .serving  as  a  lessov.  This  .study  of  me  is 
about  one  who  has  given  his  life  to  work  and  dedicated  to  this  work 
all  his  physical,  mental,  and  moral  forces. " 

ANTECEDENTS. 

It  seems  probable  that  Zola  inherited  from  his  parents  and 
grandparents  a  vigorous  physique,  and  from  his  mother  a  ner^'ous 
gout  or  neuro-arthritic  condition. 

Zola  was  born  at  Paris  on  April  2,  1840.  He  was  not  nursed 
by  his  mother.     He  was  weaned  at  the  normal  time.     He  did  not 

have  convulsions,  though  in  his  early 
infancy  he  was  puny  and  easily 
alarmed.  He  began  to  walk  at  the 
usual  age.  He  was  backward  in  learn- 
ing to  talk  ;  the  letter  "  s  "  was  pro- 
nounced like  "  t,"  and  at  present  there 
is  a  trace  of  this  defect.  At  the  age 
of  two,  Zola  was  attacked  with  a  vio- 
lent fever,  probabl}^  cerebral ;  for  some 
hours  he  was  thought  to  be  dead. 
Between  the  ages  of  six  and  seven  he 
was  affected  with  other  troubles,  about 
which  little  is  known  ;  they  necessi- 
tated numerous  blisters  applied  to  both 
arms.  After  recover}'  he  remained 
pale  and  delicate,  but  later  he  became 
strong,  with  a  tendency  to  corpulency 

Zola  at  Six  Years.  i  •    i      i  •  j  •  ,.^  ^tv-l 

which  has  increased  with  age.     The 
picture  reproduced  here   is  one  taken  of  Zola  when   six   years  of 


It  shows  him  as  a  strong  child,  with  a  somewhat  lymphatic  look. 
The  left  eye  is  less  open  than  the  right,  on  account  of  an  orbicular 
contraction  which  is  still  persistent. 


EMILE   ZOLA.  469 

The  signs  of  puberty  were  manifested  between  thirteen  and 
fourteen,  and  his  sexual  instinct  was  alwaj^s  characterized  by  a  cer- 
tain timidity,  as  is  often  the  case  with  neuropathic  persons  on  ac- 
count of  inhibitory  ideas. 

Zola  finished  his  studies  at  Paris  at  eighteen.  At  this  time  he 
had  a  severe  attack  of  t5^phoid  fev-er.  The  disease  lasted  six  weeks  ; 
he  was  delirious  in  its  acute  stages.  He  .  remembers  the  intense 
heat  in  his  feet  and  nausea  and  nightmare  with  sensations  of  bal- 
ancing in  space. 

After  he  had  abandoned  his  studies  at  the  Lycee'  in  Paris,  he 
had  a  life  of  material  privations,  so  much  so  at  times  that  he  re- 
mained in  bed  in  order  to  keep  warm.  This  in  connection  with  his 
intense  intellectual  activit}-  afforded  sufficient  cause  to  give  form  to 
his  congenital  neurotic  condition.  His  nervous  troubles  increased 
more  and  more  ;  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  forty,  there  were  intes- 
tinal pains  ;  from*  forty-five  to  fifty  the}-  took  the  form  of  cystitis 
and  angina  pectoris,  with  pains  in  the  left  arm.  At  thirty-five  he 
ceased  to  smoke  on  account  of  his  cardiac  troubles.  About  this 
time  morbid  ideas  made  their  appearance  ;  but  such  ideas  do  not 
seem  to  have  had  any  antecedents  in  his  youth.  When  Zola  began 
to  be  successful,  he  was  more  at  ease,  his  health  was  better  ;  he 
increased  in  size  and  weight,  so  much  so  that  the  least  exertion 
put  him  out  of  breath.  He  had  symptoms  of  gastric  dilatation,  pyro- 
sis, stomachal  pains,  and  drowsiness  after  eating.  Pie  resolved  on 
a  dietetical  regimen,  which  he  continues  in  part  to-daj^  ;  never  drink- 
ing an3'thing  during  a  meal,  and  never  wine,  during  the  day  he 
takes  a  litre  of  tea.  In  eighteen  months  he  lost  forty  pounds. 
Since  infancy,  and  especially  since  his  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  his 
teeth  have  been  bad  ;  their  condition  was  attributed  to  a  general 
feebleness  following  upon  his  loss  of  flesh. 

MENTAL  EVOLUTION. 

Zola  was  not  a  precocious  child  ;  he  did  not  know  how  to  read 
at  seven.  At  this  time  his  father  and  mother  went  to  Aix.  He  re- 
mained there  five  years,  from  sev^en  to  twelve  ;  during  this  time  he 
did  not  learn  very  much,  but  enjoyed  much  freedom  in  out-door 
recreation.  As  early  as  ten  he  had  his  little  love  affairs  ;  at  twelve 
they  became  less  superficial  and  more  complicated,  although  purely 
mental.  Notwithstanding  this  seeming  precocity,  women  did  not 
play  a  great  role  in  his  life  as  a  young  nian.     With  his  comrades  he 

1  Our  grammar  and  high  school,  combined  with  our  college,  would  correspond  to  the  r,yc<Se. 


470  THE    OPEN    COURT. 

was  reserved,  not  making  acquaintances  easily,  but  affectionate 
towards  those  who  were  his  friends.  This  reserve  was  probably  in- 
creased ]j>-  his  timidity  ;  it  is  a  permanent  trait  in  his  character. 

At  twelve  he  entered  the  eighth  class  at  the  Lycee  in  Aix  ;  he 
was  much  behind  in  his  studies,  being  at  the  foot  of  his  class.  But 
he  went  to  work  seriouslv  and  gained  several  prizes  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  and  continued  doing  well  in  the  subsequent  years.  He 
chose  the  scientific  course  as  much  on  account  of  his  repugnance  to 
the  dead  languages,  especially  Greek,  as  by  his  attraction  for  nat- 
ural science.  He  was  a  methodical  and  practical  student,  not  lazj^, 
not  over-enthusiastic.  Zola  was  versed  in  what  may  be  called  the 
new  art  of  the  future,  the  art  of  knowing  what  to  omit,  to  do  only 
the  indispensable  ;  this  was  fundamental  in  his  character. 

When  eighteen  he  left  Aix  with  his  parents  to  return  to  Paris, 
where  he  entered  the  Lycee  to  continue  his  studies.  But  he  felt 
somewhat  behind  his  comrades;  they  also  made -sport  of  him  on 
account  of  his  provincial  accent.  He  did  not  go  with  any  of  the 
students.  Becoming  discouraged  and  disgusted  with  classical  train- 
ing, he  did  not  follow  the  course  and  did  not  do  well  in  his  other 
studies.  After  finishing  philosophy  he  presented  himself  for  the 
baccalaureate  in  science,  but  did  not  pass  in  German  history  and 
even  failed  in  literature. 

Now  thrown  upon  the  world  with  his  mother,  who  had  lost 
little  b}'  little  all  her  resources,  his  natural  disposition  caused  him 
to  utilize  the  conditions  of  poverty,  which  in  the  lives  of  most  men 
seem  to  be  necessary  to  develop  personalit}^  to  its  utmost  possibil- 
it^^  He  was  forced  to  start  out  independenth^  with  neither  father 
nor  brother  with  whom  he  could  discuss  his  opinions  ;  he  was  free 
to  choose  his  own  path  ;  to  this  Zola  attributes  his  pursuit  of  inde- 
pendent literature. 

He  assisted  his  mother  in  housekeeping,  kept  .strict  account  of 
all  the  details  and  finances.  He  was  obliged  to  live  among  the 
poor  of  Paris.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  he  utilized  those  ex- 
periences in  his  writings. 

Zola  did  not  plan  at  first  to  live  by  his  pen,  for  he  was  not  con- 
scious of  his  great  literary  talent.  At  fifteen  he  felt  a  taste  for  litera- 
ture and  read  with  two  friends  a  little  of  everj^thing.  The  three  en- 
joyed Hugo  and  Musset  the  mo.st.  They  preferred  long  walks  into 
the  country  rather  than  the  pleasures  of  the  theatre  or  games.  Zola 
could  not  choose  any  of  the  liberal  professions  because  he  was  not 
a  Bachelor  of  Arts  ;  so,  as  he  himself  says,  he  was  forced  to  take 
to  literature,  because  there  was  nothing  else  to  do.     But  literature 


KMILE   ZOLA. 


471 


pleased  him  and  gradually  he  found  that  he  could  earn  enough  to 
live  bv  his  writings. 


GENERAL  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Zola  is  now  fifty-seven  years  of  age.  He  is  below  medium 
stature  and  of  robust  appearance.  The  chest  is  large,  the  shoulders 
high  and  narrow,  the  muscles  are  fairly  developed,  although  he  ex- 
ercises little.  The  skin  is  white  and  wrinkled  in  places  ;  his  hair 
and  beard  were  dark,  but  to-da}^  they  are  grey  ;  the  head  and  face 
are  large,  the  features  are  accentuated  ;  his  look  is  searching,  but 


Portraits  of  Zola  at  Fifty-skven  Years. 

rendered  somewhat  vague  by  near-sightedness.  In  general,  his 
physiognomy  expresses  continuous  reflection  of  a  serious  nature. 
His  voice  is  good,  but  the  final  letters  are  sometimes  uttered  in  fal- 
setto. 

ANTHROPOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION. 

Before  giving  some  of  the  results  of  these  investigations  in  de- 
tail, we  may  ask  as  to  the  utility  of  so  many  minute  measurements. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  modern  psj^chophysical  and  anthropolo- 
gical mode  of  inquir}',  there  is  a  danger  of  making  too  fine  distinc- 
tions, such  as  insisting  on  half-millimetres,  or  valuing  too  much  a 
difference  of  a  few  thousandths  of  a  second,  or  of  massing  together 
a  large  number  of  facts,  which  like  a  pile  of  bricks,  have  no  definite 
relation  to  each  other.     But  new  lines  of  study  require  more  detail. 


472  THE    OPEN    COURT. 

It  is  better  to  have  too  many  facts  than  too  few  ;  for  by  leaving 
out  data  in  a  preUminary  Hne  of  inquiry  we  assume  that  we  know 
in  advance  what  material  will  be  important  and  what  not  important, 
and  thus  exclude  facts  for  theoretical  reasons,  allowing  presupposi- 
tions undue  influence.  If  we  knew  beforehand  what  was  of  most 
value,  the  investigation  might  be  superfluous. 

The  utilitarian  objection  to  empirical  inquiry  fails  to  under- 
stand the  foundation  of  all  love  of  knowledge.  It  is  frequently 
asked,  what  is  the  use  of  this  or  that  experiment,  "  Will  any  good 
come  out  of  it?  "  ''  Will  any  evils  of  society  be  lessened  ?  "  etc.,  etc. 
It  may  be  answered  that  if  sociological  evils  are  to  be  remedied, 
the  first  step  is  to  find  out  their  causes  definitely,  and  experimental 
investigation  is  one  of  the  best  methods.  But  the  primary  idea  of 
.science  is  truth  for  its  own  sake,  and  under  the  inspiration  of  this 
ideal,  most  of  the  discoveries  of  utility  to  humanity  have  been  made. 
In  all  experimental  work  much  may  be  done  that  subsequently  is 
seen  to  haVe  been  unnecessary.  But  often  the  real  significance  of 
a  fact  cannot  be  known,  until  other  facts  have  been  brought  to 
light. 

We  give  some  of  the  anthropometrical  measurements  and  de- 
scriptions made  by  Bertillon,  the  inventor  of  the  "  Bertillon  Sys- 
tem of  Identification,"  and  by  Manouvrier,  the  distinguished  phys- 
ical anthropologist  : 

ANTHROPOMETRICAL. 

•Height,  I  m    705  mm.  Length  of  left  foot,  262  mm. 

Sitting  height,  S90  mm.  Length  of  right  foot,  269  mm. 

Arm  reach,  r  in.  770  mm.  Vertical  diameter  of  head,  143  mm. 

Maximnm  length  of  head,  191  mm.  Bizygomatic  diameter  of  head,  146  mm. 

Maximmn  width  of  head,  156  mm.  Chest  girth,  i  m.  60  mm. 

Cephalic  index,  81  mm.  Waist  girth    i  m.  70  mm. 

Length  of  right  ear,  69  mm.  Weight,  160  ponnds. 

Width  of  right  ear,  31  mm. 

Forehead:  Superciliary  arches  medium  ;  inclination  medium  ;  height  and 
length  above  average  ;  several  horizontal  wrinkles. 

Color  of  left  iris  :  Aureola  chestnut,  periphery  greenish  slate. 

Nose :  Root  of  medium  depth  ;  ridge  rectilinear  ;  base  slightly  elevated  ; 
medium  in  height  and  prominence  ;  tip  bilobed  ;  nostrils  wide. 

Lips  :  Nasolabial  height  medium  ;  upper  lip  prominent,  medium  thick. 

Chin  :  Inclination  prominent  ;  height  low. 

Mouth:  Medium' in  size  ;  corners  lowered. 

JRiffht  ear :  Original  ridge  medium  ;  superior  and  posterior  ridge  large. 

Lobe  :  Contour  square  ;  slightly  adherent  to  cheek  ;  height  large. 

Aftti-iraoiis  :  Inclination  obilque  ;  profile  rectilinear;  reversion  (turning 
over)  intermediate  ;  small  in  size. 


EMILE   ZOIvA.  473 

Folds:  Inferior  concave  ;  superior  intermediate  ;  rectilinear  in  form. 

Left  ear :  Original  ridge  small  ;  superior  ridge  medium  ;  posterior  ridge 
large. 

Lobe :  Contour  square,  slightly  adherent  to  cheek  ;  height  large. 

A  nti -tragus :  Inclination  oblique;  profile  rectilinear;  reversion  (turning 
over)  intermediate  ;  small  in  size. 

Folds  :  Inferior  concave  ;  superior  intermediate  ;  rectilinear  in  form. 

Fyelids :  Palpebral  fissure  or  slit  medium  ;  superior  left  one  uncovered. 

Hair :  Chestnut ;  uisertiou  in  points. 

Beard :  Light  chestnut,  turning  to  gray. 

PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES. 

Zola  is  a  little  below  the  average  in  height  and  sitting  height, 
btit  in  arm-reach  he  is  about  the  average.  His'  head  is  more  than 
average  in  size ;  but  this  would  not  necessarily  mean  a  larger  brain, 
on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  bones  of  the  cranium  being  un- 
known. 

The  anti-tragus  of  the  ears  is  almost  absent  and  the  border  ad- 
heres to  the  cheek.  The  upper  left  ej'elid  is  somewhat  lov^^  The 
wrinkles  of  the  forehead  are  very  old,  existing  as  early  as  the  age 
of  six  ;  so  that  at  that  time  he  was  called  serious  or  grave.  Ma- 
nouvrier  regards  these  wrinkles  as  a  sign  of  emotivity.  Wrinkles 
in  London  school  children  were  shown  by  Warner'  to  indicate  dtil- 
ness.  In  examining  school  children  in  this  country  the  writer  has 
found  this  to  be  a  general  truth,  except  where  children  are  near- 
sighted, in  which  case  the  wrinkles  may  be  due  to  the  strain  of  the 
eyes.  Wrinkles  may  be  normal  in  mature  people,  but  not  in  chil- 
dren. One  cause  of  the  wrinkles  ma}^  be  this  :  a  dull  child  finding 
its  lessons  difficult,  must  make  more  of  an  effort  or  strain,  which  is 
expressed  by  wrinkles  on  the  forehead  ;  repetition  gives  these  wrin- 
kles permanence  in  early  life.  Zola's  near-sightedness  may  account 
for  the  wrinkles  in  his  childhood.  There  are  vertical  wrinkles  in 
front  of  the  ear,  especially  on  the  left  side  ;  Zola  hears  best  on  this 
side.  Toulouse  thinks  this  might  indicate  more  active  mov^eraents 
in  connection  with  hearing. 

When  in  a  state  of  repose  and  looking  at  a  distance,  the  left  eye- 
brow is  notably  lowered  ;  this  is  probably  due  to  an  orbicular  contrac- 
tion of  long  standing  and  can  be  considered  as  a  netiropathic  stigma. 

FORM  OF  ZOLA'S  HANDS. 

His  hands  are  112  millimetres  in  breadth  and  ito  millimetres 
in  length  ;  they  are  broad  rather  than  long,  emphasizing  the  human 

1  Warner,  Francis.    "  On  Mental  Condition  of  50,000  London  School  Children."    See  Report 
of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  iS^o-iSgi,  Vol.  2,  pp.  1081-1138. 


474 


THE    OPEN    COURT. 


EivIILK   ZOLA. 


475 


type  as  distinguished  from  the  simian.  The  two  median  folds  in 
the  pahns  unite  at  their  radial  extremities.  When  the  hand  is  flat 
and  the  thumb  rests  against  the  index  finger,  the  muscular  extension 
into  the  interosseous  space  is  greatlj^  increased.  This  indicates, 
according  to  Fere,  a  great  possibility  of  movement.  The  finger  nails 
are  small  and  round. 

FINGER,  IMPRINTvS. 

The  upper  column  in  the  figure  represents  the  imprints  of  the 
lef^  hand,  the  lower  column  those  of  the  right  hand.  The  imprints 
of  the  tlumijjs  begin  at  the  extreme  left  and  follow  in  succession, 
ending  with  those  of  the  little  fingers. 


Finger  Imprints. 


In  accordance  with  the  general  principle  that  complexity  of 
function  and  design  are  parallel.  Fere  finds  among  the  degenerate 
the  most  simple  forms  as  that  of  an  arch  ;  this  arch  he  finds  in  the 
imprint  of  Zola's  middle  left  finger.  But  the  idea  has  not  been 
confirmed  as  yet  by  other  investigators. 

The  imprints  of  the  left-hand  fingers,  especiall}^  the  three  last, 
are  not  so  clear,  the  skin  at  the  ends  being  very  wrinkled ;  the  little 
hairs  are  almost  effaced.  This  may  be  because  the  fingers  are 
used  less;  for  age  affects  immediately  those  functions  the  least  exer- 
cised. Galton  affirms  that  in  all  his  investigations  he  has  not  as 
5^et  found  anj^  relation  between  finger  imprints  and  moral  or  othei 
characteristics. 

Toulouse  finds  Zola,  from  an  anatomical  point  of  view,  free 


476 


THE    OPEN    COURT. 


from  any  notable  defects  which  would  make  him  pass  beyond  the 
limits  of  normal  variation. 


CIRCULATORY   ORGANS. 

The  circulatory  organs  are  sound  ;  the  pulse  slow  (fifty-five)  ; 
the  form  of  pulse  taken  by  the  sphygmograph  of  Marey  is  here 
given  : 


^  ^hh^  "^^djuxle  cLiuoiXje 


P0LSE,  Traced  by  Sphygm(jgraph,  Reduckd  Oni;-ninth  in  Size. 

The  line  of  ascension  is  straight,  the  line  of  descension  is  un- 
dulated ;  the  slight  polyerotism,'  or  wave-like  line,  indicates  great 
arterial  elasticity' .  Arterial  pressure  is  strong,  being  about  nine 
hundred  and  fift}'  grams.  Sometimes  there  are  pains  in  the  thoracic 
region  on  tlje  left  with  constrictive  sensations  and  irradiation  in 
the  left  arm  ;  this  angina  symptom  alternates  with  crises  of  false 
C3'stitis. 

There  is  a  constant  capillar}^  pulse,  indicated  thus  : 


Capillary  Pulse  from  Plethismograph  of  Hallion  and  Compte. 


RESPIRATION. 

Zola  was  rarely  subject  to  colds  before  forty-five,  but  since 
then  he  has  become  more  susceptible.  His  respiration  is  calm, 
regular,  and  of  normal  frequence,  about  eighteen  a  minute.  The 
movement  of  the  chest  in  respiration  as  traced  by  the  pneumograph 
ishe  re  given  : 

1  A  condition  of  secondary  waves  or  bc.-\ts  of  the  heart. 


EMILE   ZOLA. 


477 


Respiration  Traced  by  Pneumograph,  Reduced  Three-fifths. 

The  ascending  line  represents  inspiration  ;  it  is  shorter  and 
straighter  than  the  descending  line,  which  represents  expiration. 

The  writer  has  endeavored  to  show  experimentally  the  effects 
•of  emotional  and  mental  states  on  the  respiration,  and  the  result 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  every  thought  and  feeling  affects  the 
respiration,  the  sensibilities,  and  circulation.  The  object  of  such 
investigation  is  to  measure  these  effects,  however  slight  the}'  may 
be.  By  making  such  studies  on  large  numbers  of  persons,  it  may 
be  possible  to  gain  more  definite  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  our 
mental^  moral,  and  emotional  experiences  in  life. 

DIGESTIVE  APPARATUS. 

The  teeth  are  bad.  The  alveolar  arch  is  not  normal.  The 
digestive  functions  have  been  troublesome  for  a  long  time,  but  of 
late  they  have  ver}^  much  improved  b}-  a  special  regimen  :  at  9  a.  m. 
a  piece  of  dr}-  bread  without  drink  ;  at  i  p.  m.  a  light  breakfast 
without  liquid  or  food  containing  starch  ;  at  5  p.  m.  some  cake  with 
tea  ;  at  7.30  p.  m  a  light  dinner  ;  at  10  p.  m.  two  cups  of  tea  ;  no 
wine.  When  riding  bicycle  Zola  takes  a  great  deal  of  tea,  as  much 
as  one  litre  per  day.  In  this  way  he  has  kept  his  corpulency  in 
check.     To  hold  one's  self  to  such  a  regimen  indicates  great  tenacity. 

MUSCULAR  SYSTEM. 

The  muscles  are  well  developed,  although  little  exercised  ;  but 
latel}^  Zola  has  taken  moderate  exercise  on  a  bic\'Cle.  When  rest- 
ing he  has  a  sensation  of  numbness  ;  there  is  also  a  trembling  of  the 
fingers  in  fine  movements  ;  in  voluntary  movements  it  is  exaggerated, 
so  that  he  sometimes  turns  a  tumbler  over  when  trying  to  drink 
from  it.  This  phase  of  his  nervous  troubles  is  still  more  exaggerated 
by  emotion,  so  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  read  a  public  address. 

The  strength  of  his  right-hand  grasp,  as  indicated  by  the  dy- 
namometer, is  forty-two  kilograms  ;  that  of  his  left  hand,  thirtj'-six 
kilograms.  This  power  of  grasp  seems  to  var}'  under  the  influence 
of  certain  excitation.     One  day  when  he  felt  dejected  the  power  of 


478  THE   OPEN   COURT. 

grasp  of  both  hands  was  at  the  maximum.     It  is  well  known  how 
music  affects  the  power  of  hand-grasp. 

The  functions  of  hand  and  arm  are  considered  of  much  impor- 
tance because  they  appear  in  close  relation  with  the  brain. 

NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 

The  sensibility  of  the  skin  is  very  developed.  This  may  be  due 
in  part  to  the  abundance  of  little  hairs  on  the  skin,  which  extend 
much  beyond  the  normal  with  Zola.  The  sensitiveness  of  heat  and 
cold  is  ver}'  great.  Reflex  sensibility  is  normal,  but  tendon  reflexes 
are  somewhat  exaggerated.     The  muscular  sense  seems  normal. 

When  standing  there  is  a  slight  oscillation  to  the  right,  if  the 
eyes  are  closed  and  the  feet  placed  together.  Zola  is  troubled  with 
vertigo.     He  is  exceedingly  sensitive  to  pain. 

Sleep,  which  is  a  general  function  of  the  nervous  system,  is 
good,  yet  after  seven  or  eight  hours  of  rest  he  awakes  with  a  feeling 
of  fatigue,  with  cramps  in  the  whole  body,  and  with  a  sensation  of 
painful  lassitude. 

Zola's  nervous  system  in  its  entirety  presents  cardiac  spasms, 
cramps,  poUakiura,  trembling,  etc.  It  is  notably  subject  to  crises 
of  pain,  which  date  from  the  age  of  twenty.  From  this  time  on  to 
forty  there  were  periods  of  nervous  colic.  From  forty-five  to  fifty 
these  crises  took  the  form  of  angina  pectoris,  of  acute  cystitis,  and 
of  articular  rheumatisms.  At  present  these  troubles  are  less,  but 
they  are  replaced  by  a  state  of  almost  constant  feebleness  and  irri- 
tability. Sometimes  gastric  troubles  are  the  occasion  of  nervous 
manifestations,  but  at  present  it  is  intellectual  or  muscular  effort 
which  provokes  them  ;  sometimes  the  slightest  thing  is  sufficient  to 
awake  them,  such  as  a  too  close  fitting  garment  ;  thus  the  squeez- 
ing in  a  crowd  once  provoked  a  crisis  of  agony  with  false  angina 
pectoris  ;  so  the  pricking  of  his  finger  has  been  felt  in  his  arm  for 
several  hours. 

There  exists  then  in  Zola  a  certain  lack  of  nervous  equilibrium, 
an  exaggerated  morbid  emotivit}^,  which  under  the  influence  of  slight 
excitations,  'causes  disordered  and  painful  reactions. 

This  condition  frequentl}^  accompanies  intellectual  superiority, 
develops  with  exercise  of  brain  and  mind,  and  tends  graduall}^  to 
increase  the  lack  of  nervous  equilibrium. 

PSYCHOPHYSICAL  EXAMINATION. 

Psychophysical  examination  is  difficult  with  a  neuropathic  sub- 
ject.    Mental  experiments  or  tests  are  subject  to  manj'  variations. 


EMILE    ZOLA.  479 

their  results  are  at  best  approximate,  yet  within  certain  limits  they 
can  indicate  tendencies  in  a  personalit}-  that  maj^  be  as  valuable  to 
kuovv  as  an)'  physical  data.  Another  difficult}^  is  that  many  of  the 
tests  have  not  been  made  on  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  to  form 
any  basis  for  comparison.  Such  results  will  be  of  more  value  in  the 
future,  when  the  study  of  living  men  shall  have  reached  a  more  de 
veloped  stage. 

SENSATION  AND  PERCEPTION. 

Sensation  from  one  point  of  view  is  physiological,  from  an- 
other standpoint,  it  is  psychical  ;  that  is,  it  is  perception.  The  tac- 
tile perceptions,  like  the  sensations,  are  generally  acute  in  Zola. 
Thus  tests  were  made  in  the  perception  of  surface,  of  form,  of 
thickness,  and  of  weight.  Visual  perceptions  are  feeble,  owing  to 
near-sightedness  ;  they  consisted  in  distinguishing  length,  surface, 
muscular  movements,  and  color. 

In  perceptions  of  hearing  Zola  shows  a  very  poor  musical  ear. 
He  has  neither  colored  audition  nor  any  ps5^chical  analogue.  Per- 
ceptions of  smell  are  not  quantitative,  but  in  comparing  and  distin- 
guishing odors  he  shows  the  finest  precision.  One  of  his  distrac- 
tions is  to  tell  what  he  is  to  have  for  dinner  ;  he  can  distinguish 
tomatoes,  chicken,  mutton,  and  different  species  of  fish.  His  mem- 
ory of  olfactory  sensations  is  very  strong.  Odors  play  a  prominent 
role  in  his  writings  as  w^ell  as  his  life.  There  is  nothing  peculiar  in 
his  perception  of  taste,  of  time,  or  of  space. 

The  nature  of  his  mental  images  is  auditive,  that  is,  in  the  art 
of  verbal  thinking  he  tends  to  make  use  of  the  auditive  imaj^es  of 
the  word. 

In  speaking  he  has  no  qualities  of  an  oratorical  nature  ;  he  is 
verj^  nervous  and  timid,  and  emotion  inhibits  or  paralyzes  him.  He 
also  has  a  poor  memory  of  words,  phrases,  or  constructions.  He 
has  never  been  able  to  learn  another  language.  He  has  tried  to 
commit  his  discourses  to  memory,  but  he  has  only  increased  his 
difficulties. 

His  handwriting  varies  very  much.  In  copies,  the  small  l€ti.ers 
are  normal,  inclined  to  the  right  and  not  higher  than  two  millime- 
tres ;  in  his  note  book,  the  letters  reach  five  millimetres  in  height 
and  vary  continualh'  in  inclination,  corresponding  to  the  intensity 
of  his  thought. 

MEMORY.  •• 

Zola  remembers  one  or  two  events  that  occurred  when  he  was 
two  years  old.     As  a  boy,  he  had  an  excellent  memory.      After  his 


480  THE   OPEN   COURT. 

third  year  his  memory  became  less  rehable.  Tests  were  made  on 
his  tactile  and  visual  sensations,  on  his  memory  of  objects,  of  form, 
of  surface,  color,  movement,  of  ideas,  of  letters,  of  words,  phrases, 
and  figures. 

As  a  result  of  these  experiments  in  memory,  his  involuntary 
memory  is  much  more  feeble  than  his  voluntary  memory.  The  de- 
gree of  his  power  of  retention  depends  much  upon  the  utility  of  the 
thsng  to  be  remembered,  thus  enabling  him  to  employ  his  memory 
to  the  be.st  advantage  and  with  the  lea.st  loss.  He  user  auditive 
images  rather  than  visual  images.  While  sight  is  the  door  to  mem- 
ory, the  ear  fixes  and  reveals  memory.  Zola  is  a  visualist  for  objects 
and  an  auditive  for  words. 

ATTENTION. 

Concentration  of  attention  with  Zola  is  not  long.  He  does  not 
study  with  success  longer  than  three  hours  at  a  time  ;  during  most 
of  this  time  he  can  hold  his  attention  to  work  in  hand  without  wan- 
dering on  subjects  that  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  task  before  him. 
While,  then,  his  attention  is  short,  it  is  intense  and  is  like  to  his  mus- 
cular effort. 

He  easily  becomes  oblivious  to  all  surroundings  when  studying. 
Thus  when  coming  down  to  breakfast  he  finds  that  the  bell  has  been 
ringing  many  times,  the  dog  barking  a  long  time,  and  that  the 
weather  has  suddenly  changed.  At  table,  in  the  street,  or  in  an 
ordinar}'  conversation  his  power  of  attention  is  small ;  he  is  often 
absorbed  in  reflection,  meeting  acquaintances,  apparently  looking  at 
them  and  yet  not  recognizing  them.  His  facult}^  of  observation  is 
very  much  developed,  in  addition  to  being  greatly  exercised. 

REACTION  TIME. 

His  reaction  time  is  136  thousandths  of  a  second,  which  is  less 
than  the  general  average,  but  its  extreme  regularity  indicates  power 
of  attention  and  assimilation.  The  motor  reactions  are  shorter  than 
the  sensorial.  The  reactions  of  choice  are  little  shorter  than  the 
normal. 

IDEAS  OF  ZOLA. 

His  knowledge  is  extensive  if  not  profound  ;  he  was  attracted  to 
the  natural  and  medical  sciences. 

Genius  according  to  Zola  is  not  rarity  nor  perfection  ;  its  three 
characteristics  are  creation  of  being,  power,  and  fecundity  ;  genius- 
reproduces  nature  with  intensity'. 


EMILE    ZOLA.  48  I 

Right  is  the  apphcation  of  justice.  There  is  an  antithesis  be- 
tween natural  law  and  written  law,  which  is  a  bad  application  of 
justice  to  society. 

Justice  is  a  social  idea  ;  it  does  not  exist  in  nature  ;  equalit}'  is 
not  in  the  nature  of  things. 

Woman  has  less  equilibrium  and  initiative  than  man  and  in 
general  she  is  inferior  to  man  ;  yet  in  little  things  she  is  superior  to 
her  husband. 

Zola  does  not  respond  to  metaphysical  ideas  ;  he  is  a  positivist  ; 
yet  he  believes  in  complete  annihilation  after  death.'  God  for  him  is 
a  naive  hypothesis  and  all  affirmations  of  religious  dogma  seem  in- 
consistent and  without  common  sense. 

He  bases  morality  on  observation  of  moral  laws.  He  has  a 
pagan  conception  of  life  ;  that  which  is  healthful  does  not  injure; 
that  which  is  outside  of  nature  is  incomprehensible.  His  ideas  of 
order  and  method  are  ver}'  developed  ;  he  is  a  slave  to  them  ;  they 
extend  from  the  care  of  his  toilet  to  the  composition  of  his  works. 
Everything  has  its  place  in  his  apartment  ;  disorder  pains  him  ;  his 
stud}'  table  is  so  well  arranged  that  one  w^ould  not  know  that  he 
used  it  ;  he  classifies  his  work  in  envelopes.  He  keeps  the  letters 
he  receives,  although  the  most  of  them  are  of  no  use  to  him. 

EMOTIVITY. 

While  phj'sically  Zola  is  somewhat  abnormal  in  his  sensations, 
yet  not  so  in  all  his  manifestations  of  sensibilit}'.  The  simple  emo- 
tions of  joy  and  sadness  are  intense.  Health,  self-control,  and  an 
eas}'  functioning  of  his  organism  give  him  great  pleasure.  Moral 
pain  depresses  him,  but  without  causing  violent  reaction.  His  sym- 
pathy is  with  natural  things  ;  it  is  not  quickly  aroused.  He  does 
not  make  acquaintances  easily. 

As  to  his  taste,  there  are  three  things  most  beautiful — youth, 
health,  and  goodness.  He  loves  jewels  and  steam  engines,  that  is, 
the  fineness  and  solidity  of  labor.  He  loves  city  scenes  and  land- 
scapes. In  the  world  of  colors,  he  prefers  red,  j^ellow,  and  green, 
and  faded  shades.  In  odors,  he  prefers  the  natural  ones,  the  flowers, 
but  never  artificial  ones.     He  likes  sweet  things. 

Fear  is  the  principal  emotion  in  him  connected  with  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation.  He  has  not  much  fear  of  the  bicycle,  but  he 
does  fear  to  ride  through  a  forest  at  night.  He  has  no  fear  of 
dying  suddenly.  He  has  no  fear  of  being  buried  alive,  yet  sometimes 
when  in  a  tunnel  on  a  railroad  train,  he  has  been  beset  with  the  idea 
of  the  two  ends  of  the  tunnel  falling  in  and  bur3'ing  him. 


482  THE   OPEN    COURT. 

He  never  has  had  aii}^  ideas  of  suicide.  He  sometimes  becomes 
angry  at  illogical  things.  The  motives  which  provoke  him  most 
easily  are  not,  as  with  the  majority  of  men,  personal  assaults  ;  but 
au}^  injury  to  his  moral  feeling,  especially  if  he  is  accused  of  injus- 
tice, arouses  him. 

Zola  likes  the  young  woman  ;  that  which  he  likes  in  her  most 
is  freshness,  health,  phj'sical  and  moral  harmony,  gentleness  and 
charm  ;  he  attaches  no  importance  to  style  of  dress.  He  has  no 
fetishisms  in  love.  In  his  jealousies  he  retires  within  himself,  re- 
acting little  and  suffering  in  silence. 

SENTIMENTS. 

Zola  does  not  have  the  religious  sentiment,  although  he  is  * 
given  to  certain  superstitions.  His  aesthetical  preferences  are  in 
literature  ;  he  is  fond  of  Balzac,  as  creator  of  beings,  and  Flaubert 
as  writer.  The  modern  theatre  displeases  him  ;  he  prefers  a  tragedy 
of  Racine  or  Corneille.  In  music,  he  does  not  like  symphony,  which 
he  does  not  understand,  but  he  likes  opera,  but  wants  to  hear  the 
words,  without  which  all  music  seems  obscure  to  him.  He  prefers 
simple  airs,  but  operetta  and  cafe  concerts  disgust  him. 

Zola  is  domestic,  his  indulgencies  are  restrained.  He  does  not 
like  any  game  of  chance  ;  neither  cards  nor  billiards  interest  him. 
He  likes  chess,  but  it  fatigues  him  ver}^  much. 

MORBID  IDE.^S. 

Zola's  tendenc)'  for  order  is  so  strong  that  it  sometimes  reaches 
a  morbid  stage,  for  it  provokes  a  certain  suffering  in  cases  of  dis- 
order. 

From  about  the  age  of  thirty  certain  morbid  ideas  have  devel- 
oped, but  the}'  do  not  cause  him  pain  when  not  satisfied  ;  he  lets 
them  run  into  "  their  manias,"  as  he  says,  and  he  is  then  contented. 
The  idea  of  dotibt  is  one  ;  he  is  always  in  fear  of  not  being  able  to 
do  his  daily  task  ;  or  of  being  incapable  of  completing  a  book.  He 
never  re-reads  his  novels' for  fear  of  making  bad  discoveries  ;  he 
has  no  confidence  in  himself  in  this  respect. 

Another  morbid  idea  is  arithmetical  mania.  He  .says  this  is  a 
result  of  his  instinct  for  order.  When  in  the  street,  he  counts  the 
gas-jets,  the  number  of  doors,  and  especially  the  number  of  hacks. 
In  his  home,  he  counts  the  steps  of  the  staircases,  the  different 
things  on  his  bureau  ;  he  must  touch  the  same  pieces  of  furniture  a 
certain  number  of  times  before  he  goes  to  sleep. 


EMILE   ZOLA.  483 

From  this  desire  to  count  arise  superstitions  ;  certain  numbers 
have  a  bad  influence  for  him:  if  by  adding  to  the  number  of  a  hack 
he  obtains  a  superstitious  number,  he  will  not  hire  the  hack  ;  or  if 
he  :s  obliged  to,  he  fears  some  evil  will  befall  him,  as  not  to  suc- 
ceed in  the  errand  he  is  upon.  For  some  time,  "3"  was  a  good 
number,  to-day  "7"  reassures  him;  thus  in  the  night,  he  opens 
his  eyes  seven  times  to  prove  that  he  is  not  going  to  die.  But  the 
number  17,  which  reminds  him  of  an  important  date  that  fate  has 
willed,  disturbs  him. 

But  Zola  has  superstitious  ideas  outside  of  his  arithmetical 
mania.  He  accomplishes  certain  things  from  fear  if  he  should  not, 
disagreeable  experiences  would  fall  to  his  lot. 

Zola  appreciates  the  absurd  side  of  these  morbid  ideas,  which 
nevertheless  are  accompanied  by  slight  emotions.  He  can  resist 
these  impulses  with  success,  and  it  costs  him  neither  .struggle  nor 
pain.  It  is  curious  how  little  morbid  ideas  affect  his  mental  equi- 
librium. 

LITERARY  EXPERIMENT. 

Passages  were  read  to  Zola  from  a  number  of  well-known  au- 
thors, as  Balzac,  Pascal,  Moliere,  Rousseau,  and  Hugo,  and  he  did 
not  recognize  the  author  in  a  single  instance.  Thus  a  great  writer 
may  read  very  little,  both  for  want  of  time  and  through  fear  that  he 
might  lo.se  his  individuality  in  style  and  thought. 

Exten.sive  knowledge  and  culture  are  not  necessary  to  origi- 
nalit}^  of  thought. 

The  intellectual  sentiment  that  causes  Zola  to  work  is  not  a 
pleasure,  but  the  necessity  of  accomplishing  the  task  he  has  imposed 
upon  himself. 

The  emotional  language  of  Zola  is  feeble  ;  he  cannot  imitate  a 
voice  or  gesture,  and  he  knows  that  he  could  not  be  an  actor. 

WILL. 

His  chief  characteristic  is  tenacity.  When  at  work  and  a  diffi- 
culty arises,  he  does  not  stop,  he  does  not  get  up  to  distract  his 
mind  ;  he  remains  at  his  table  ;  difficulties  develop  him.  His  acts 
are  guided  more  by  reason  than  sentiment.  When  pushed  by  pas- 
sion, he  reflects,  weighs  the  consequences,  and  he  is  conscious  of 
being  master  of  himself.  He  never  feels  constrained  in  spite  of 
himself  to  commit  an  act  which  he  would  deem  unjust.  He  does 
not  comprehend  the  violent  passions  of  Hugot  in  fiction,  nor  those 
feelings   which  pushed  General  Boulanger  to   suicide.     Zola  is  a 


484  THE   OPEN   COURT. 

type  of  mind  that  has  contributed  to  the  hypothesis  that  man  is  a 
master  of  his  actions. 

ZOLA  A  NEUROPATH. 

As  to  the  relation  of  intellectuahty  to  neuropathy,  compara- 
tively little  is  positively  known.  Zola  is  neither  epileptic  nor  hys- 
terical, nor  is  there  the  least  sign  of  mental  alienation.  Although 
he  has  many  nervous  troubles,  the  term  ' '  degeneracy  ' '  does  not 
apply  to  him  wholly.  Magnan  classes  him  among  those  degener- 
ates who,  though  possessing  brilliant  faculties,  have  more  or  less 
mental  defects.  It  is  true,  as  we  have  seen,  that  Zola  has  orbicu- 
lar contraction,  cardiac  spasms,  thoracic  cramps,  false  angina  pec- 
toris, sensory  hypersesthesia,  obsessions,  and  impulsive  ideas  ;  his 
emotivity  is  defective,  and  certain  of  his  ideas  are  morbid,  but  all 
this  is  not  sufficient  to  affect  in  any  appreciable  manner  his  intel- 
lectual processes.  His  strong  and  harmonious  constitution  give 
him  immunity,  his  intellect  is  not  contaminated.  Toulouse  says 
he  has  never  seen  an  obsessed  or  impulsive  person  who  was  so  well 
balanced. 

Yet  Zola  is  a  neuropath,  that  is,  a  man  whose  nervous  system 
is  painful.  Heredity  seems  to  have  caused  this  tendency,  and  con- 
stant intellectual  work  to  have  affected  the  health  of  his  nervous 
tissues.  Now,  it  is  a  question  whether  this  neuropathical  condition 
is  not  an  excitation  that  has  given  rise  to  the  intellectual  ability  of 
Zola.  Whether  a  diseased  nervous  system  is  a  jiecessary  cause  of 
great  talent  or  genius,  is  quite  another  question  ;  yet  pathological 
facts  have  been  such  constant  concomitants  of  great  talent  and 
genius  that  the  relation  seems  to  be  more  than  a  temporal  one  and 
suggests  the  idea  of  cause  and  effect. 

In  brief,  the  qualities  of  Zola  are  fineness  and  exactitude  of 
perception,  clearness  of  conception,  power  of  attention,  sureness 
in  judgment,  sense  of  order,  power  of  co-ordination,  extraordinary 
tenacity  of  effort,  and  above  all  a  great  practical  utilitarian  sense. 
With  these  qualifications  he  would  have  succeeded  in  whatever  path 
in  life  he  might  have  chosen. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Toulouse,  E.  Emile  Zola  'Pa.r'\s,  ii<^.— Toulouse,  E.  Les  causes  de  la  folie,  1896.  Binet  ei 
Jacques  Passy.  Etudes  de  psychologic  sur  les  auteurs  dramatiques.  AnniJe  psychologique, 
1894-1895,  page  (>\.  —  Lombroso,  C.  L'Homme  de  giSnie,  1896.  The  Man  of  Genius,  in  Euglish.— 
Moreau  (de  Tours).  La  psj'chologie  morbide  dans  ses rapports avec  la  philosophic  del'histoire, 
z85<).—J?ivei!li-Pa>ise.  Physiologic  des  homines  livre  aux  travaux  de  I'esprit,  184S. — Manou- 
vrier.  Essai  sur  lesqualites  intellectucllcs  consideriScs  en  function  de  la  superiorite  cerebrale 
^uantative.  Revue  de  I'Ecole  d'authrop,  Tome  IV,  Mars,  1894 — Ribot.  L'h6redite  psycho- 
logique. \%-]},.— Gallon.  Hereditary  O^wxws.—Lemailre,  Jules.  Nos  contemporains.— A/izc- 
Donald,  A.     Abnormal  Man. 


APPENDIX 


This  study  of  Zola  is  one  among  the  recent  studies  that  have  direct 
appHcation  to  a  human  being.  It  is  given  not  as  an  example,  but  rather 
as  a  suggestion  that  may  lead  other  specialists  to  go  much  further  into 
the  greatest  of  all  studies — that  of  man  himself  as  he  is  today. 

If  we  are  ever  to  have  sufficient  definite  knowledge  of  living  human 
beings  that  may  become  a  science,  it  can  only  be  done  by  the  careful 
study  of  large  numbers  of  individuals.  The  more  thorough  the  study 
and  the  larger  the  number,  the  more  useful  such  investigation  can  be 
made  to  society. 

As  in  machinery  we  must  first  repair  the  little  wheels  out  of  gear, 
so  in  society  we  must  first  study  the  criminal,  crank,  insane,  or  pauper 
who  can  seriously  injure  both  individual  and  community.  Thus  a 
worthless  crank  by  killing  a  prominent  citizen  can  paralyze  the  com- 
munity. The  injury  from  such  action  is  often  beyond  calculation.  Our 
government  pays  out  millions  to  catch,  try,  and  care  for  criminals,  but 
gives  very  little  to  study  the  causes  that  lead  to  crime. 

The  study  of  man,  to  be  of  most  utility,  must  be  directed yfr^/  to  the 
causes  of  crime,  pauperism,  and  other  forms  of  abnormality.  To  do 
this  the  individuals  themselves  must  be  studied.  As  the  seeds  of  evil 
are  usually  sown  in  childhood  and  youth,  it  is  here  that  all  investiga- 
tion should  commence,  for  there  is  little  hope  of  making  the  world 
better  if  we  do  not  seek  the  causes  of  social  evils  at  their  beginnings. 

The  most  rigid  and  best  method  of  study  of  both  children  and  adults 
is  that  of  the  laboratory  with  instruments  of  precision  in  connection 
with  sociological  data.  Such  inquiry  consists  in  gathering  sociological, 
pathological,  and  abnormal  data  as  found  in  children,  in  criminal, 
pauper,  and  defective  classes  and  in  hospitals.  Such  experiments  or 
measurements  should  be  made  as  are  of  interest  not  only  to  sociolo- 
gists, psycho-physicists,  and  anthropologists,  but  also  to  physiologists 
and  pathologists 

Since  the  field  is  necessarily  very  large,  the  investigation  should  be 
in  those  parts  of  it  which  promise  to  be  productive  of  most  practical  re- 
sults in  the  way  of  amelioration  or  prevention  of  social  evils. 


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